US confirms cancelled talks with Taliban over nixing of girls’ education

The US confirmed on Friday that it has cancelled talks with the Taliban over the hardline groups' decision to cancel secondary education for Afghan girls.

State Department spokeswoman Jalina Porter told reporters that the Taliban's decision is a "potential turning point in our engagement" with Afghanistan's de facto rulers.

"For the sake of Afghanistan's future, and the Taliban's relations with the international community, we urge the Taliban to live up to their commitments and to their people," she said on a conference call.

"We also stand with Afghan girls and their families who see education as a path to realizing their full potential," she added.

The diplomatic row comes after Afghanistan's educational institutions re-opened Wednesday with girls who were to begin education beyond the sixth grade told by the Taliban to remain home.

The Taliban returned to power after 20 years of war, ultimately ousting by force the internationally-recognized government as NATO-led forces that supported it withdrew.

The decision to curtail girls' education comes a little more than one week before a major international donor conference, which the UN had hoped would lead to hundreds of millions of dollars in humanitarian aid being pledged.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres slammed the Taliban's decision, saying it is "deeply damaging" for the war-torn nation.

"The de facto authorities' failure to reopen schools for girls above the sixth grade, despite repeated commitments, is a profound disappointment and deeply damaging for Afghanistan," Guterres said.

"The denial of education not only violates the equal rights of women and girls to education, it also jeopardizes the country's future in view of the tremendous contributions by Afghan women and girls," he added.